Advertising Information

Radio Interview 101


Different Types of Station Contact

Reaching radio hosts (for the purpose of trying to get booked for an interview) can take on various forms, depending on the type of station the show is done at. What's best? All of them at the same time, of course. But since that's cost prohibitive for almost any guest, you have to pinpoint what will do an acceptable job for an acceptable price.

Personal contact with prospective hosts is always the best, done by either by the guest or the booking person. These personal visits are usually only possible in the hometown of the guest or booking person, since radio PR campaigns just don't charge enough to pay someone to visit stations nationally. (Interestingly, high-level music airplay promotion campaigns DO charge enough for personal visits.) Regardless, if there is ever a chance to meet face to face with a host, do it... they will never forget you.

The telephone is the big equalizer in booking interviews. Most radio interviews are booked on the phone, since you can reach every host in the country, and, since hosts are big phone-people. Plus, radio people are used to being hit with calls from music promoters, syndication promoters, equipment salespeople, audience calls, etc. Two things about the phone, however,... you have to hit the hosts at the right time (especially music-station morning crew hosts/producers), and you have to sound good doing it.

Printed ads in radio publications are used by a lot of people who are trying to book interviews, and while these ads do generate "some" calls from smaller stations, I'll go ahead and say that an ad's purpose is not so much to generate calls as it is to build awareness (much like a billboard on the side of the road just builds awareness.) These printed "trade" ads certainly do have a use, but I just would not rely on them to make your phone ring.

Ads on radio websites are even a bit less useful than printed ads, as far as awareness-building is concerned (and certainly as far as generating calls is concerned.) It has something to do with radio's fight over the internet for streaming, artists, banner sales, etc. Regardless, radio does not take things seriously that are presented via banner ads ONLY. However, if you have a great site, adding a banner (that links to your site) as part of your phone campaign makes good sense.

Email contact is good for college stations and music-directors at community stations, but it is very weak at convincing commercial stations on FIRST contact. Once they know you, however, email is a good tool to get booking-times and dates across. Email has to be pin-point to the person... personalized and all. You cannot send one email to a list of people... they will never respond, and they will block you.

Fax is most certainly just an image builder (like a billboard), and not a booking tool. Getting your guest's point across in a fax (if used by itself) usually never works since it never gets to the right person. And you can't send it multiple times to the same fax machine, since that would not be welcomed.

Postal mail is a bit better than fax, as far as getting to the right person is concerned, but the cost involved, along with the proper-addressing hassle, makes mail prohibitive except for simple postcard-type image builders, or when mailing a book or book-cover is really needed. A nice thing about mailings is that you can target several guests with multiple pieces, mailed in intervals so that you don't fill up the receptionist's desk with your stuff.

Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion is an independent radio interview promotion company.
www.radio-media.com.
310-998-8305


MORE RESOURCES:

Digital Signage in Europe Report: Opportunities for Digital out-of ...
MarketWatch - 4 hours ago
Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising revenues in Western Europe will quadruple over the next five years from 160m in 2007 to 626m by 2012. ...


Siliconrepublic.com

Microsoft web browser that covers its tracks could hit Google’s ...
Times Online, UK - 14 hours ago
Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft are fighting for bigger shares of the world’s internet advertising market, which is estimated to be worth $40 billion a year ...
IE8 Privacy Features Threaten Advertising — Including Microsoft ... IT Business Edge
Internet Explorer 8’s InPrivate Could Block Advertising Wired News
Microsoft's newest browser may block ads The Associated Press
Financial Times - Daily Mail
all 719 news articles


Asia Media Journal

Advertising: Online about to overtake radio in slow ad market
guardian.co.uk, UK - 15 hours ago
Europe's biggest media buyer yesterday reduced its forecasts for the global advertising market for this year and 2009 as a result of a slowdown in the US, ...
Media buyer Carat cuts advertising spend forecasts Reuters
Global online advertising to overtake radio advertising in 2008 domain-B
Carat Bullish on Online Ad Growth Wired News
ADOTAS - Press Gazette
all 34 news articles


ITV.com

UK iPhone Ad Banned for False Advertising
Tom's Guide, CA - 59 minutes ago
By Jane McEntegart, published on August 27, 2008 at 4:20 PM The Authority banned the ad following complaints that it allowed users to fully browse the web ...
iPhone Web Claims Draw Governmental Rebuke in UK Slashdot
UK officials deem iPhone ad misleading and ban it Boston Globe
Apple iPhone 3G TV Commercial Pulled Due to False Advertising Mobile Magazine
International Herald Tribune - ZDNet
all 327 news articles


CNET News

Let the 'Spore' advertising blitz begin
CNET News, CA - 15 hours ago
So far, this is the first advertising for the game that I've seen in public. But I can only assume it's just the beginning of what will be a very large ad ...


The Business Desk

Johnston Press hit by house market woes as property advertising slides
Scotsman, United Kingdom - 15 hours ago
By Peter MacMahon JOHNSTON Press yesterday revealed that tumbling returns from the property and job markets had left its advertising revenues down more than ...
Johnston Press sees advertising revenue at its regional newspapers ... guardian.co.uk
Johnston reports advertising woe The Press Association
Advertising fall eats into revenues Yorkshire Post
Independent - Telegraph.co.uk
all 32 news articles


Opposition frets over rerun of in-and-out advertising
Canada.com, Canada - 9 hours ago
Because the Tories have consistently maintained that advertising purchases were legal, Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc says they may feel obligated to use the ...
Tories ramp up TV ad campaign Globe and Mail
all 10 news articles


Business Wire (press release)

LaDainian Tomlinson Conquers a Hard Day of Work in the Latest ...
MarketWatch - 1 hour ago
In the latest installment of the famed Campbell's(R) Chunky(TM) soup advertising campaign, one of the NFL's most dominant offensive forces will do just the ...
Eight isn't enough for super Charger Daily Press
Campbell's(R) Chunky(TM) Soup and NFL Moms Team Up to Tackle ... MarketWatch
all 18 news articles


The CFO Group Brings Advertisers Contextual, Editorially-Adjacent ...
Emediawire (press release), WA - 6 hours ago
New York, NY (PRWEB) August 28, 2008 -- The CFO Group has entered into an agreement with Firstlight E|R|A (Editorial Related Advertising) to deliver a ...
The CFO Group Reports Positive Results for Second Quarter MarketWatch
all 12 news articles


MediaPost Publications

Mobile search and advertising co JumpTap raises $26m: JumpTap is ...
TMCnet - 19 hours ago
27--Israeli-American start-up JumpTap, which search and advertising solutions for mobile telephones, has announced that it raised $26 million in a fourth ...
Mobile advertising co JumpTap raises $26 million Globes
Canada to probe Google-Yahoo advertising deal Computer Business Review
JumpTap takes on Google CNET News
MarketWatch - Xconomy
all 27 news articles

Advertising - Google News

home | site map
© 2006